Open letter from Aussie game developer to MP Andrew Stoner

Sydney-based developers Nnooo! (EscapeVektor, Spirit Hunters) have crafted an open letter asking for the NSW Interactive Media Fund to be renewed.

Here's the open letter in full from Nic Watt, Creative Director at Nnooo to MP Andrew Stoner:

Dear Mr Stoner,

I am writing to ask you to renew the Interactive Media Fund for NSW. As the Creative Director at Nnooo, a video game developer based in Sydney, I would like to touch on a few points which I think demonstrate how and why the fund is so important.

In 2006 I moved to Australia with my partner having worked in video games for 8 years. At that point my most recent position was as a Lead Designer at Electronic Arts (one of the worlds biggest game developers and publishers) in London.

In 2006 there were very few game developers in Sydney and most of the industry was (and arguably still is) based in Victoria and Queensland. This meant that finding a video game job in Sydney was going to be extremely challenging. I decided to utilise my own savings to start my own company, Nnooo, to take advantage of the new digital stores which were starting to appear on traditional games consoles like Wii, XBox 360 and PlayStation 3. As I had a few contacts from working at EA I managed to slowly get introductions to the platform holders; Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony, and in 2008 our first title, which was designed, developed and marketed in NSW, was selected by Nintendo of America to be one of 6 launch titles for their new WiiWare service.

Since 2008 we have released 10 products on 5 platforms (Wii, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo 3DS, iOS and PlayStation Vita). The past 6 years have been very hard for us in terms of game development, attracting and maintaining the right talent and keeping our head above water with an ever strengthening Australian dollar (@70% of our sales are in US$). Last year we were fortunate enough to be the recipient of a small, but vital, grant from the Interactive Media Fund. This meant that we could hire two contract programmers to take our critically acclaimed game escapeVektor to two new platforms (Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita). This year we have applied for a larger amount to help build our business over the long term and allow us to enter new markets with new, innovative IP which has been created here in NSW.

As you can appreciate developing games, much like developing films or television programs, is a risky and hit driven business. Without help from government agencies like your own, fledgling companies like ours will find it more and more difficult to compete on a global stage. Companies like Nnooo are competing worldwide with companies based in Canada (who have generous grants and tax breaks for video games) and the UK (with their newly announced tax incentives).

On a local basis Victoria has their own strong and established funding system which has helped drive the growth of video game development across the state.

While I realise the Federal Government have recently announced the Screen Australia Interactive Games Fund I believe a continuation of the Screen NSW fund is still of vital importance. I would like to, again, draw some parallels with the current Screen NSW and Screen Australia funding of television and film. In these industries the two funds have very complimentary roles. One fund operates at a more local level ensuring that new, grass roots, talent is fostered and can become more experienced and proficient enough to be able to take advantage of the National fund. The same applies to the games industry. We need funds like the Interactive Media Fund to help grow smaller companies so that they have the experience and talent needed to move onto the next level. Without funds like this it is more likely that NSW will revert back to how it was in 2006; a state with few full time, professional games development companies, with most of the video game development talent based in Victoria and Queensland.

If you look at where we are now as a state we have changed and grown so much in the last 6 years and a large part of that is down to funds like the Interactive Media Fund. We now have an increasing number of small studios just starting out on their journey. We have a bourgeoning International Game Developers Association (IGDA) chapter here in Sydney and lots of young local talent graduating from university. Nurturing this talent will help develop local skills and experience in one of the world's fastest growing entertainment sectors, in an industry whose revenues have already surpassed those of the global film industry. It will help companies like Nnooo to compete globally, to grow our talent base and to produce more high quality video games, over 95% of which are exported around the world.

In summary, it would be a shame to stop such an important fund now and risk losing all of the great work the fund has done since its inception as the Digital Media Initiative in 2010.

I would be delighted to welcome you to our small studio in Pyrmont, Sydney to show you the award-winning games we have made and talk you through the game we are currently working on. It would be a great opportunity for you to see video game development at a grass roots level. I am sure you would also be more than welcome at any of the various IGDA meetings which take place in Sydney on a regular basis.

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